Folkestone Academy Review 2026: A Talent-Led Secondary with Strong Leadership and Clear Priorities

A state secondary that has built its identity around engagement and opportunity, Folkestone Academy puts significant emphasis on helping students find a route into school life that feels meaningful. That shows up in practical ways, including a Creative Arts Scholarship pathway for Year 7, a purpose-built horticulture classroom, and a skatepark used for structured sessions and clubs.

The latest Ofsted inspection, published in June 2022 following an April 2022 visit, judged Folkestone Academy Good overall, with Outstanding for leadership and management.

Academically, the picture is more challenging. On FindMySchool’s GCSE measures, outcomes sit below England averages, with Progress 8 also indicating weaker progress from starting points. That contrast matters for families: leadership and culture have external validation, while results data suggests the school is still on a journey in academic consistency.

Folkestone Academy presents itself as a place where students are known well, and where systems are designed to help young people settle, participate, and stay engaged. The most persuasive evidence here is not marketing language but the presence of clear mechanisms that reduce friction for students who need support. Examples include structured pastoral routes and simple tools for raising concerns, alongside a focus on behaviour expectations that aims to keep the day calm and purposeful.

There is also a noticeable thread running through the Academy’s public-facing programme design: activity is not treated as a bolt-on. Creative arts and enrichment are built into how the school talks about motivation, attendance, confidence, and belonging. The Creative Arts Scholarship programme is explicitly framed as a way to help pupils discover and develop talent through additional opportunities and cultural experiences.

Leadership structure is best understood as multi-layered. Official records list Mr Matthew Tate as headteacher or principal. The school also publishes a senior team that includes a Head of School role, alongside trust-level leadership. For parents, the practical implication is that daily operational leadership is likely shared between on-site senior staff and trust leadership, which can be a strength when improvement planning is well coordinated.

The headline message from the FindMySchool dataset is that outcomes are currently below England averages across several GCSE and A-level indicators.

At GCSE level, Folkestone Academy is ranked 3,751st in England for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), and 4th locally within Folkestone on the same ranking lens. This sits below England average, within the lower performance band when compared to other schools nationally.

The underlying indicators point in the same direction. Attainment 8 is recorded as 31, and Progress 8 as -1.11, which suggests students, on average, made less progress than pupils with similar starting points. EBacc outcomes are also low with 1.6% achieving grades 5 or above across EBacc and an EBacc average point score of 2.45, compared to an England comparator of 4.08.

For families, the implication is not that strong students cannot do well here, but that academic consistency is a key question to probe. When you visit, it is worth asking how the school identifies gaps early, how it supports students who arrive below age-related expectations, and how it ensures subject option pathways keep doors open.

At A-level, the FindMySchool dataset also points to weaker headline outcomes relative to England averages. The school is ranked 2,558th in England for A-level outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), and 4th locally within Folkestone. The proportion achieving A*-B is recorded as 8.16%, against an England comparator of 47.2% for A*-B ’s benchmark field.

None of this removes the relevance of the inspection narrative, which describes an ambitious curriculum and improving provision over a three-year period prior to the inspection. The practical takeaway is that the school has evidence of improvement work and leadership capacity, while results data suggests families should check how far that improvement has translated into sustained examination performance for recent cohorts.

The school frames its curriculum as carefully sequenced, with an emphasis on structured independent study and on developing curiosity and critical thinking. That matters most when it translates into predictable classroom routines and clear knowledge-building over time, particularly for students who benefit from structure and repetition.

Reading is treated as a priority in the inspection evidence, including targeted support for weaker readers in Key Stage 3 using a phonics-based approach. For parents of Year 7 entrants who are not yet confident readers, this is a material detail to ask about. Specifically, enquire how students are assessed on entry, what the intervention timetable looks like, and how quickly students can move out of catch-up once they are secure.

A distinctive feature of Folkestone Academy’s offer is the way practical programmes are used to reinforce learning, engagement, and personal development. The horticulture classroom is described as supporting a spiral curriculum that includes sustainability, soil science, propagation, and garden design, with hands-on work such as taking cuttings and maintaining beds. The implication is a curriculum that can suit students who learn best through doing, while still needing careful alignment with core literacy and numeracy goals.

Digital access is another practical component. The school states that it works with Google and provides new Year 7 pupils with a Chromebook to support learning access. For families, the key questions are how the device is used day-to-day, what safeguarding and filtering looks like, and what expectations exist for home use.

For post-16, Folkestone Academy sits within the Turner Schools Sixth Form model and describes a Level 3 offer that includes A-levels alongside vocational pathways. The published course list across the wider sixth form platform includes subjects such as Sociology, Biology, French, Spanish, Psychology, Maths, Geography, Fine Art, Chemistry, History, Film Studies, Graphic Communication, English Literature, and Applied Criminology.

Where destinations data is available it suggests a mixed picture that will suit some learners better than others. For the 2023 to 2024 leavers cohort (74 students), 39% progressed to university, 5% to further education, 3% to apprenticeships, and 42% to employment. The implication is that this is not a sixth form defined by a high university pipeline; it looks more like a setting where a substantial share of students move directly into work, and where careers guidance and employability preparation are likely to be a central part of the offer.

For families who want a more university-heavy pathway, it is sensible to ask detailed questions about: the range of Level 3 options, the support for high grades in facilitating subjects, and how university applications are coached, including personal statement support and predicted grade processes. Conversely, for students motivated by practical routes, the presence of mixed Level 3 pathways can be a positive, provided the school can show strong employer links, work experience structures, and progression tracking.

Year 7 entry is coordinated through Kent County Council using the Common Application Form (CAF). For September 2026 entry, the Kent secondary admissions timetable is explicit: applications open on Monday 1 September 2025 and close at midnight on Friday 31 October 2025. National Offer Day is Monday 2 March 2026, and the deadline to accept or decline the offered school is Monday 16 March 2026.

Folkestone Academy’s published admission number for Year 7 is 180. The school’s admissions policy also sets out two notable features within Year 7 intake:

• Six places within the published admission number are linked to special resource provision (SRP) places, allocated through the local authority process for students with an Education, Health and Care Plan where SRP is the appropriate mainstream-based provision.

• Up to 10% of Year 7 places may be allocated on aptitude in creative arts, using specified criteria and a supplementary information route; applicants not offered through this category are then considered under the open criteria.

Beyond those elements, oversubscription criteria follow a structured order that includes looked-after and previously looked-after children, siblings, named feeder primary schools (Folkestone Primary, Martello Primary, and Morehall Primary), service premium eligibility, children of staff in specified circumstances, and then proximity as a tie-break. Distance is measured as a straight line using the National Land and Property Gazetteer, with random allocation used where distance cannot separate applicants.

For sixth form entry, the admissions policy indicates course-level requirements, with students generally expected to achieve a grade 5 in subjects they wish to study at A-level, and grade 4 potentially considered at the school’s discretion. Applications route through the area prospectus platform referenced in the policy and the school’s admissions information.

A practical planning tip for families comparing options is to use FindMySchool’s local comparison tools to view GCSE and A-level indicators side-by-side across nearby schools, then prioritise open events where you can ask about how teaching and intervention is organised in Year 7 and Year 10.

Pastoral provision is one of the clearest strengths in the publicly available evidence. The inspection report describes a school where staff know pupils well, where students feel safe, and where behaviour systems support a calm day. It also references accessible mechanisms for students to seek help, including simple reporting routes for worries.

The Academy also highlights its relationship with Place2Be, a school-based mental health and wellbeing service model. For parents, what matters is operational detail: how students access support, whether support is drop-in or referral-based, and how confidentiality and safeguarding escalation work. The presence of a named pastoral model is positive, but families should still ask how demand is managed and what waiting times look like during high-pressure periods such as mocks and GCSE season.

The April 2022 report confirmed safeguarding arrangements were effective.

Folkestone Academy’s enrichment offer is most distinctive where it aligns with the school’s “talent” framing and provides concrete programmes rather than generic clubs.

Creative arts is a flagship. The school runs a Creative Arts Scholarship programme in Year 7 that is designed to identify and develop pupils with aptitude across creative and performing arts, and the inspection evidence links this to enrichment opportunities such as subsidised cultural trips. For a child who needs school to feel purposeful before they can commit academically, this kind of structured pathway can be a genuine lever.

Music and performance also appear with specific named examples. The school lists activities such as jazz band, chamber choir, a record label, and the Academy musical. These are the kinds of opportunities that can anchor a student’s identity in school life, particularly during the difficult Year 8 to Year 10 stretch where engagement often dips.

There are also distinctive physical and practical facilities used to broaden engagement. The school has publicised the development of an on-site skatepark used for lunchtime and after-school sessions, with plans to integrate it into physical education. Alongside this sits the horticulture classroom, which supports practical learning tied to sustainability and environmental science. These are not typical features of a standard comprehensive; they are clearly intended to widen the set of “ways to belong” at school.

For students who want structured recognition beyond school, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is available from Year 8, with Bronze activity in Year 9, Silver in Year 10, and Gold in Years 12 to 13. This is often a useful indicator of organisational competence, because it requires consistent staffing and risk management to run well.

The published Academy Day runs from 9.00am to 3.30pm, with gates opening at 8.30am and after-school activities listed through to 4.30pm. For families with childcare needs, the key point is that this is activity-based wraparound rather than a primary-style after-school care model, so availability depends on club schedules and year group priorities.

The school publishes term dates for the academic year, which helps families plan around INSET days and holiday boundaries.

Travel planning is worth thinking through early, especially for older students attending sixth form. The school points families to Kent County Council travel schemes for bus travel, including the Travel Saver approach for secondary-aged pupils. Families using buses should also check operator school routes and timings that serve the site.

• Academic outcomes remain a key question. FindMySchool’s GCSE and A-level indicators place the school below England averages, with a negative Progress 8 measure. Parents should ask what has changed since the latest inspection and how impact is tracked subject by subject.

• EBacc ambition is still developing. External review commentary highlights that more students now take history or geography, but languages uptake at GCSE was identified as an area to strengthen. If EBacc breadth matters to your family, ask how options are structured and what encouragement exists for languages.

• Attendance expectations may be a pressure point for some families. Official commentary indicates attendance needed further improvement even after strategies reduced persistent absence. If your child has anxiety, medical needs, or a history of attendance challenges, ask what day-to-day support looks like and how reintegration is handled.

• Creative arts entry routes add complexity. The Year 7 creative arts aptitude pathway can suit the right child, but it is a distinct process alongside standard coordinated admissions. Families considering this should read the supplementary requirements carefully and ensure deadlines are met.

Folkestone Academy is a school with a clear strategy: engagement first, and a broad set of routes into belonging through creative arts, practical learning, and structured enrichment. Leadership capacity has strong external validation, and the pastoral framework includes identifiable mechanisms and partner support.

It best suits families who value a school that works hard to motivate students through talent pathways and varied programmes, and who are prepared to interrogate the academic plan closely. The limiting factor is confidence in outcomes; families should use open events to test how consistently strong teaching is delivered across subjects and how intervention is targeted from Year 7 onwards.